hep rd university trio student support services newsletter · trio student support services...

Spring 2015

Volume 1, Issue 1

Shepherd University

TRiO Student

Support Services

Newsletter

Inside this issue:

Directors Corner

New Faces at Trio

Farewells

Graduates

Dean’s list recipients for Fall 2014 Semester

Workshops

Graduate Reception

Shepherd’s own Trio Scholarship Winner

TRiO’s First Participant Graduates

The Director’s Corner

This degree is the result of hard work and dedication to your future. It is

the culmination of a minimum of three years of collegiate work. I say

three years because our graduate, Erin Artz will complete her

bachelor’s degree in three years. Erin will receive her bachelor’s in

Psychology with a minor in Spanish as an honor student. She has

applied to graduate school at Colorado Christian University in

Lakewood, Colorado and Messiah College in Pennsylvania where she

plans to pursue a master’s degree in counseling. Her TRiO counselor,

Evora Baker says that Erin has been successful because she is a

proactive learner who understands that sometimes students must seek

additional help from the resources available at Shepherd.

TRiO has seen its best year ever at Shepherd serving 102% of the

students that the program was funded to serve, has an 86% retention

rate and 93% of the students are in good academic standing with the

University. That is a testament to the motivation, dedication and

perseverance of Shepherd students. Again, congratulations to Erin and

all of the graduates of the class of 2015 for a job well done and be

proud of your accomplishments.

I predict that next year will be better than this year.

It is with great pride that I

announce that on May 9, 2015 the

first TRiO student cohort will

graduate with a bachelor’s degree

from Shepherd University. I

congratulate all of the TRiO

students who have successfully

completed the degree requirements

to be Shepherd graduates. This

year, there will be a total of 39

TRiO graduates.

Cynthia Copney, Director, TRiO

Student Support Services

TRiO/SSS Newsletter- Spring 2015

Rich Goodman

Graduate Assistant

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tajmarie Rowe,

Sr. Administrative Assistant

Hi! My name is Rich. I'm the new graduate assistant for TRiO. I was in the

program as an undergraduate student (just last spring) and now I get to

enjoy the lab from the other side of the desk. As a graduate assistant, my job

is to help you! So I'll try to be as approachable as possible and if you need

any help at all please come to me! In undergrad I was a biology/psychology

double major with a chemistry minor, a basic math tutor, and a pretty good

writer, so I should be able to help with most questions and if not I can find

you the person that can! Also, as a GA I am granted the responsibility of

organizing workshops and graduate school tours whenever possible, so if

you have a particular aspect of your life that you think could use some

improving, please send me requests or ideas for workshops whenever they

come to mind and I will do my best to accommodate these requests.

I look forward to working with all of you! Have a great summer!

Trio’s new Administrative Assistant graduated from the

University of Mary Washington with a Bachelor of Science

degree in Business Administration. She was once a Trio

participant at the Lord Fairfax Community college where she

attended in 2010. Her experiences vary from working with

college students over 5 years, through the TRiO program, the

Students in Transition Program and the James Farmer program,

as well as serving the elderly at an assisted living in

Fredericksburg Virginia. She is currently pursuing a Masters in

Business Administration. Taj finds working with students very

fulfilling and hopes to continue her legacy here at Shepherd.

I am here to serve you!!!


As we celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating TRiO students, we would also like to acknowledge the

accomplishments of our wonderful Graduate Assistants, Annie Lewin and Darrell Johnson.

Darrell Johnson joined the TRiO team in December 2012 and graduated with his

Master of Arts degree in College Student Development and Administration in

December 2014. After graduation, Darrell accepted a position as an Area

Coordinator of Residence Life at York College of Pennsylvania.

Annie Lewin joined the TRiO team in August 2013 and graduated with her Master

of Arts degree in College Student Development and Administration in May 2015.

Annie is currently job searching for Student Affairs/Higher Education jobs

preferably in Title IX.

We were very fortunate to have Annie and Darrell on our TRiO team. From facilitating Individual Success Plans

to helping students in our computer lab, they were always happy to do whatever was needed to support our TRiO

students. We will certainly miss them on our team, but wish them both well as they move on to the next step of

their careers!

Good luck with all your future endeavours

From the staff at TRiO


The TRiO Staff wishes you the best in all your future endeavors.

Erin Ammon - August 2015

Erin Artz - May 2015

Kayla Barb - December 2014

Cynthia Brockman – August 2015

Mauro Casas Doza – May 2015

Cricket Cook – May 2015

Kayla Friday – May 2015

Joselin Fuentes – May 2015

Felix Gouanette – May 2015

Mark Guessford – May 2015

Jeanaleah Harm – May 2015

Eric Heflin – May 2015

Adam Jenkins – May 2015

Raul Herrera – August 2015

Adam Jordan – May 2015

Raymond Miller – May 2015

Kimberly Mueller – May 2015

Catherine Newcome – May 2015

Jordan Redmon – May 2015

Abel Setegn – May 2015

Kandis Stoy – May 2015

LaShawn Tolson – May 2015

George Wait – May 2015

Zachary Walrad – May 2015

Sean Yarborough – May 2015

Alyssa Anderson – December 2014

Kimberly Clegg – December 2014

Siriki Diabate – December 2014

Jessica Hall – December 2014

Jennifer Hill – December 2014

Laura Remsburg – December 2014

Courtney Samms – December 2014

Tawney Sampson – December 2014

Charlotte Taney – December 2014

Whitney Wilson – December 2014

Joseph Woodburn – December 2014

Congrats!!!!


Congratulations to our TRiO students that made it onto the Dean’s list for the fall 2014 and

Spring 2015 Semester.

Keep up the Good Work!

Fall 2014 Semester

Jasmine Allanson-Redmon

Erin Artz

Cynthia Brockman

Jason Carnes

Mauro Casas Doza

Aimee Copenhaver

Yanira Diaz

Jade Dusci

Elizabeth Ellis

Shayla Evans

Felicia Hall

Christina Heard

Raul Herrera

Jennifer Hill

Adam Jenkins

Kia Jones

Tara Paugh

Britney Poole

Jordan Redmon

Jesus Ruvalcaba

Courtney Samms

Staci Sheffler

LaShawn Tolson

George Wait

Spring 2015 Semester

Erin Artz Chris Berg Kristian Buchanan Mauro Casas Doza Jasmine Clever Yanira ‘JJ’ Diaz Jade Dusci Russell Goodacre Felicia Hall Christina Heard David Ilnicki

Holly Jefferson

Raymond Miller Britney Poole Jordan Redmon Jesus Ruvalcaba Staci Sheffler LaShawn Tolson George Wait Cassidy Watson Kendra Wenner Jacob Younker


Vision Board Workshop

Making a vision board during the Vision Board Workshop was my favorite

TRiO program workshop thus far. After the introductions, we were given total

freedom to make a board that represented our future or present goals. When

making my imagery board, I did not want to focus on future or present goals; I

wanted to focus on taking life one day at a time. By finding inspiring words in

the magazines, I made an imagery board personalized for my goals. What I

like the most about the program is that we made something that can help us

throughout our entire life and not just our college career. My vision board is hung in my room to remind me of my every day

goals. - Amanda Spain, TRiO Student

___________________________________________________________________________

Self Discovery for Success Workshop

The Self Discovery for Success Workshop was one of the best

workshops I have been to as a TRiO student. Many workshops are

held during the year, and I feel that a lot of them are not necessarily

helpful to me, but this one was. This workshop helped me to realize

why I am highly skilled in some areas of life and not as skilled in

other areas. I learned about different aspects of my personality type, and now I understand that I am not the only

person who questions why they may act a certain way in certain situations. We all started off by figuring out what

letters fit us on a version of the Myers-Briggs personality test. This part helped bring people together by realizing

that even though they seemed different, they had very similar personalities. This sparked conversation between

everyone who was present and we all learned a little more about each other. This was a very successful workshop.

-Jordan Redman, TRiO Student


TRiO Game Night

The turnout was great and we played some really fun team

games. Although participants played games, the workshop’s real

focus was to explore various styles and types of

communication. Students had a fantastic time acting out titles

from categories of films, TV shows, or books, and trying to get

others to guess it without using words. We then completed

mazes and word searches as teams. The next game Taboo

required that as team members we really work well together.

Playing Taboo really exemplified everyone’s skills at word play

and how team members would be able to communicate to one

another without using specific words. Students were forced to find creative ways to describe people, places and

things. Game Night also served as a space where TRiO students could meet and interact with other TRiO students.

Events that the TRiO program puts on, allows us to have fun, but also allow participants to meet other Trio

members and develop new friendships. Overall, we all had so much fun and learned a great deal about our

communication styles. Many students agreed that TRiO should have more Game Nights. -Ashley Simmons,

TRiO Student

___________________________________________________________________________

Wellness Workshop

The Wellness Workshop presented by TRiO provided me with a

greater understanding of several important factors of living a healthy

lifestyle. The dangers of smoking and consuming alcohol were

discussed. I knew some of the risks of smoking and drinking but this

workshop provided me with addition information that I had not

known prior to attending. Students were given the chance to share any

previous information that they had on these subjects so we could learn

from each other. Healthy eating was also discussed. Healthy foods such as fruits were brought in and shared with

the students. We also discussed healthy ways to manage stress, and how to balance school with other life

responsibilities. This was my favorite TRiO workshop of the semester as it was the most relevant regarding my

physical education major. - Emily Krause, TRiO Student


Graduate Reception 2015

On Friday, April 24, 2015 the TRiO/Student Support Services Program

held a reception honoring the 2015 program graduates. This year’s

graduates were the program’s first cohort graduating class consisting of

36 students. Dr. Laura Renninger, Dean of the Center for Teaching and

Learning, spoke to the graduates about imagining possibilities and how

the current TRiO lab was simply a room filled with shelves and books

before the program started. Now, it is a computer lab filled with

equipment and students working to complete their degrees. Student

speakers included Erin Artz, Joselin Fuentes, Felix Gouanette, Jessica

Hall and Jordan Redmon. They spoke on their time spent at Shepherd and in the program, and how the program

transformed their attitudes toward school and life. They all said that before they began college, their

preconceived ideas about college were totally different from their actual experiences. They said that completing

college would have been very difficult without the services they received from the TRiO program. Two graduates

were recognized for their achievements: LaShawn Tolson, the 2015 recipient of the Ikenberry Award, and Siriki

Diabate, the 2015 recipient of the University’s Lowe Award.

Congratulations to all of the graduates for accomplishing their dream of achieving a Bachelor’s degree!

___________________________________________________________________________

Shepherd’s own TRiO Scholarship Winner

Jesus Ruvalcaba is a great example of how hard work, dedication, perseverance,

and volunteerism can translate into cash. In April 2015, Jesus became the first

Shepherd University TRiO Student Support Services student to receive the WV

TRiO Scholarship. When interviewed, Jesus reflected on how difficult attending

an institution of higher education was for him when he first started as a student.

When he came to the United States seven years ago, he did not speak English,

which caused him to have to work extra hard. In his narrative for the

scholarship’s essay, Jesus talked about being the first person in his family to

attend college and how challenging this feat has been because no one in his

family can help him with the process. Jesus also stated, “TRiO also helped me become more confident and to

believe in myself. I meet with my counselor regularly and we set goals and create steps that will help me reach

my goals”. Jesus actively participates in the TRiO SSS program by attending workshops, volunteering for events,

and checking in with his counselor regularly. Jesus’ tenacity for his studies and his belief in service has afforded

him the opportunity to earn a $500.00 scholarship from the WV TRiO program. Jesus, we applaud your

continuous commitment to academia and making SU TRiO SSS history.


TRiO First Participant Graduates

It was a cold January day when Cynthia (Cindy) Brockman trudged

over to the Scarborough Library to inquire about the Shepherd

University TRiO Student Support Services program. Cindy was

having difficulty in a few classes and her mom suggested that she

contact the TRiO SSS program. Cindy was the very first student to

apply and gain acceptance into the program. Since that time, Cindy

has actively participated in every aspect of the TRiO program.

Her admiration for the SSS program has been demonstrated by her

efforts to help other students enlist in the program. According to

Cindy, “TRiO is a place where students can go and do their work and

feel comfortable.” Cindy went on to say, “It is nice to be able to come

into the office to chat with Cynthia, Michelle and Evora. TRiO was a good support system for helping me

transition from high school to college. Through the TRiO workshops, I have gained public speaking skills, team

building, note taking, test taking strategies, and time management.”

Cindy stressed that students with disabilities sometimes face greater obstacles in college than their peers who do

not have disabilities. Therefore, if students have a program like TRiO, they will have a greater chance of being

successful in college. When asked about her fondest memories of TRiO, Cindy said that “Going to New York and

participating in the Team Building activity” were among her favorite TRiO activities.

Cindy’s graduation is a testament that students can succeed with the right support. The SU TRiO SSS program is

happy to celebrate its 5th

year of serving the Shepherd University community. It is students like Cindy who make

TRiO such a successful program.

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